We Found Paradise Kind of
by tsume.hack
Summary: Kiba and the others are reborn in a modern city. They try to live among the humans, but alas, "inconspicuous" is not a word in their vocabulary. And just how good are they at Dance Dance Revolution?
1. Default Chapter

Tsume: Oooh-kay . . . tsume.hack doesn't own Wolf's Rain or any of the characters. Ha ha ha . . .

tsume.hack: That's not very nice. Oh, and by the way . . . um, I've only actually watched one episode of Wolf's Rain, but I've got a pretty good idea of what happens, thanks to Kiba spoiling it all for me . . . bows Thank you, Kiba-san! For that, and putting up with me when we go to McDonald's! Oh, yeah . . . the story . . . kinda forgot about that... o.O;;

The businesses and shops opened late on the weekends, but there was still the regular early-morning crowd on the streets today. The bustle of the masses mingled with the sounds of automobiles and buses driving by on the congested streets, while anxious-faced office workers on bicycles jockeyed for space in the narrow bike lane.

On the sidewalk, food vendors were hawking their wares to the crowd, and street performers amused those who cared to stop and watch, and maybe donate a little money as well. The people in the crowd were mostly nine-to-fivers on their way to work, and they were too absorbed in their own thoughts to notice a certain young man, probably in his twenties, walking along against the flow of foot traffic, unmindful of the crowds.

He looked normal enough, with his weatherbeaten black jacket, jeans, and white shirt. His hair was a little unruly and hung over his serious blue eyes. He kept his hands in his jacket pockets as he walked, ignoring the morning rush, and pausing once to glance at a hot dog vendor.

With a slight smile, he remembered a golden-brown muzzle stealthily inching closer to another hot dog vendor's goods, in another time.

That muzzle belonging, of course, to Hige: the king of fluff and hot dog connoisseur extraordinaire –

" Hey mister!" Kiba started, and snapped out of his reverie to see the vendor pointing at him. " You look hungry! C'mon, get one! Best hot dogs in town!"

For a second, he thought about getting one, just in memory of Hige, but then he thought the better of it, and walked away. He hadn't liked hot dogs back then, and he still wasn't too fond of them.

He continued to walk. Was Hige here? he wondered. Then he dismissed the thought. Chances were, if he had been reborn as Kiba had, he was somewhere else, far away. Kiba had tried over and over to catch any familiar scent in this bustling city, but the faint traces he had happened upon disappeared as soon as he tried to follow them. For a while, he had considered leaving the city, but something kept him here, something that urged him to wait just one more day, and see what the next would bring.

Always the next day . . . Kiba repeated in his mind. He bumped shoulders with a middle-aged man hurrying by, who apologized hastily over his shoulder and continued on his way.

His hand came up to his shoulder. If that had happened back then . . . they would have bumped into a wolf. Now, he was a human.

He let his hand drop, then stuck both hands in his pockets. Maybe he did have the body of a human . . . but all the time, he could feel the wolf in him stirring still, and on nights when the moon was full . . .

He soon left the business district and found a quiet park some way away from the noise of zooming cars. He sat down on a bench and surveyed the glittering expanse of skyscrapers punctuating the skyline.

Was Paradise here? he wondered. Would he find peace here?

He hung his head and rubbed his eyes with a sigh.

If only there was some way to tell . . . If only he could be sure . . .

" Oh, hey!"

Kiba ignored the call, thinking the person was calling someone behind him.

" Hey! It's you, isn't it?"

Okay, now it sounded like they were talking to him. Come to think of it, that voice sounded familiar –

" Kiba!"

His eyes shot open, and he jerked his head up. There stood Hige, looking very much alive and well, a half-eaten hot dog in his hand, and another one wrapped in foil tucked under his arm.

" Been a while, Kiba," he grinned, then offered, " Hot dog?"

Kiba shook his head, still surprised. He was at a loss for words for a moment or two.

" You too?" he managed at last. Hige's grin faded into a somewhat sad smile. He still wore his collar.

" Yup. Human," he said matter-of-factly. " I'm not a wolf anymore." He reflected on this with great seriousness for a moment before cheering himself up with the rest of his hot dog.

" How've you been?" he asked around a particularly big mouthful. Kiba shrugged.

" I've been okay. Surviving, if that's what you mean."

Hige laughed. " I knew you'd say something like that. Y'know, we're not wolves anymore, but it still feels like we are. We still talk about surviving as though we're hiding from the humans, but think about it: We don't have to hide anymore. We finally belong."

" Do we?" Kiba asked quietly. Hige stopped chewing to look at him.

" Hm, well that all depends. I guess we don't. But we can try."

They watched the distant skyline, and the sun reflecting off the polished buildings. After a few minutes Hige asked, " Have you seen the others?"

Kiba shot him a glance. " They're here?"

" I dunno. I thought maybe you'd have seen them." Hige stuffed the rest of his food into his mouth. When he had swallowed he continued, " I thought I smelled them the other day, but it's hard to be sure."

" I know."

Hige rubbed his nose with one finger thoughtfully, then he grinned.

" It sure was weird, walking through here and seeing you on this bench. Freaked me out," Hige laughed. " I thought I was seeing things." He clapped his hand on Kiba's shoulder. " But it's good seeing you again after all this time."

Kiba smiled. " It's good seeing you too."

" Man, we should see if we can find Tsume and Toboe now," Hige got up and stretched. " We wouldn't be a whole pack without them." He examined his foil-wrapped hot dog and said in a dubious tone, "Are you _sure_ you don't want it?"

" Pretty sure."

Kiba got up, and the two wolves – or rather, _former_ wolves – started walking toward the city.


	2. Hey Toboe!

tsume.hack: I do not own Wolf's Rain. Or the characters therein.

Hige: Ha ha.

tsume.hack: I'll take away your hot dog.

Hige: I'll be good, I promise. lays down

tsume.hack: I saw _Balto _a couple days ago. I swear, Kiba somehow found his way into that, too. What a camera hog.

Hige: still waiting for hot dog

" Hey Kiba, wait up!"

Hige caught up to his friend just as they were passing yet another hot dog vendor. Kiba looked back and saw Hige holding two hot dogs.

" Aren't you full from the last two?" he asked.

" Well, these are just a snack for the road," Hige explained. " I figured, if this is gonna take a while, I might as well have something to fill me up."

Kiba doubted that anything could fill _him_ up, but he didn't say anything.

" So where are we headed this time?" Hige asked, trotting alongside to keep up. " I mean, I know you always have a "feeling," but I'm just curious . . ."

" I'm looking for a tree."

That stopped Hige short. " A what?"

" A tree. I've gotta go."

Hige stared after his friend incredulously. Kiba just kept walking on. You would think after living in a city for as long as Kiba had he would have learned the proper terminology for a bathroom. (Note to Kiba: That one's for you.)

Hige sighed, and started after Kiba.

At the next traffic light they began to cross the street. Kiba was halfway across when he heard the shrill screech of brakes and a "Holy crap!" from Hige.

He whirled around, fearing the worst.

Hige was just sitting up in the spot where he had dove to avoid the oncoming car, now ominously parked just a couple of feet from him. He looked unhurt, much to Kiba's relief, but his two hot dogs were a different story . . .

" My poor hot dogs!" Hige wailed, stooping over their smushed remains on the road.

" I didn't even get to put mustard on them! O the agony! O the despair!"

Kiba pulled him away from the dead hot dogs.

" Hige . . ."

At this point the young passenger in the vehicle that had almost sent Hige to the great beyond got out and stood pouting with his hands on his hips.

" You idiot!" he said. " You know how lucky you are to be alive? Grandma almost hit you! And you're crying over _food_?"

Hige stood up, ready to throw back a stinging remark, when he caught sight of the speaker's face. Kiba saw his eyes widen in disbelief.

" What is it?" he asked, joining him. He followed his gaze to the kid by the car, and his own eyes widened.

The kid by the car was staring at them too.

" T- Toboe?" Hige said under his breath. " It can't be . . ."

" Toboe?" Kiba said, addressing the kid, who started and suddenly gave a whoop, running around the car to them.

" Kiba! Hige! It _is_ you!" Toboe jumped on Hige, nearly smothering him. Kiba turned and smiled at the ever-rambunctious pup – argh, former pup. Hige was laughing as he pulled Toboe off and gave him a noogie.

" I guess things never change, do they, ya runt?" Hige grinned as Toboe struggled to break loose. " Hey, watch the collar!"

" Leggo of me!"

Hige finally let him free, and laughed as the pup glared at him.

" Oh - !" Toboe suddenly looked as though he'd gotten a brilliant idea. " You guys, you have to meet my granny! Come over here!" The driver of the car had pulled over to the side of the road, and traffic had started up once more. Toboe jogged over, the other two following, and poked his head in the window.

" Grandma, there's a couple of people I want you to meet!" He stepped back from the window and motioned the two forward.

" I have to warn you – she's a little deaf," he explained sheepishly. " Just so you know."

Kiba and Hige bowed to the little old lady seated behind the steering wheel. She was seated on two pillows and what looked like a phone book, and was wearing a pair of ridiculously thick glasses that magnified her eyes, making her look like a certain scentless owl they had met long ago. Hige jumped when she looked at them, shuddering at the memory, then grinned in a friendly manner.

" Hi there, ma'am," he said. " I'm Hige, and –"

" Eh?" she said, cupping a hand to her ear. " What was that again, sonny?"

" Um, I'm Hige, and this is –" he tried again, louder.

" Wha-?"

But Hige didn't have a chance to try again; she had caught sight of Kiba, and her already huge eyes got even bigger.

" Well, well, look at what we have here," she cackled in her closest approximation to a giggle.

Kiba jerked back and looked around nervously. Hige was hiding behind him, shivering. The big eyes were beginning to get to him.

" Well, I guess we know why she almost hit you," Kiba said, indicating the glasses and stack of pillows. " You're lucky she missed. Ah-!" He stepped back to avoid the old woman's attempt to touch his messy hair and eyed her uneasily.

" I think she likes you, Kiba," he said, peeking out over his friend's shoulder. Kiba yanked his shoulder from Hige's grasp, saying, "Shut up."

But, looking back at Granny, he saw that there were cartoon hearts floating around her head, and a blush was rising in her cheeks –

" Whoa-! Hey, Kiba, where's the fire!" Hige called after the trail of dust that marked Kiba's hasty departure route.

Toboe sighed, and told his granny that he'd meet her back at home. She drove off, telling him that his handsome blue-eyed friend was welcome at the house anytime.

Hige watched the car leave, then remarked to Toboe, " Does she do that often? Hit on younger men, I mean?"

Toboe just shook his head. " I have no comment."

Hige sighed in frustration. " I don't get it; why do Kiba and Tsume always get the fangirls? It's not fair."

Well, that's it for the second chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. Hopefully I'll get the next ones out . . . and hopefully they'll be good . . . sweats There's a lot of hope involved in this sort of thing, isn't there? Geez . . .


	3. Tsume's Moving Company?

tsume.hack: what? no one to say the usual disclaimer?

toboe: you're not tsume.

tsume.hack: shut up, runt.

toboe: but you're pretty close.

tsume.hack: thanks.

toboe: but you don't own wolf's rain, so ha.

tsume.hack: . . . Oh! Hey, thanks to all you reviewers out there who enjoyed/are enjoying/will enjoy the story. It gives a writer "warm fuzzies" to know that they're being read. (Again, Kiba, you're probably the only one who'll know what the hell I'm talking about.) And, yes, sadly(?), it does involve a certain scantily clad wolf. So, without further ado, here's the third chapter! Woot! (But it is kinda long, so . . .)

" Is she gone yet?" came Kiba's voice from the shadows in which he had been lurking for the past twenty minutes, and out of which they had been trying to coax him for the last fifteen.

" God, for the millionth time, she left a half hour ago!" Hige said in exasperation.

" I know you're traumatized, Kiba, but we really should get a move on," Toboe said a bit more patiently. There was no answer.

After some more chiding and wheedling, Kiba eventually slid out of the huge pipe and looked around suspiciously. Then, evidently convinced the coast was clear, he sighed in relief and joined his packmates at the picnic bench. They both looked at him with raised eyebrows and amused smirks, but stopped the moment he glanced at him.

" What?" he said defensively. " Is there something wrong?"

" No," Hige said, doing his valiant best to hold back a laugh, " I was just wondering what it was Granny back there saw in you."

Toboe did a poor job holding back a snort, then nodded. " I've never seen her that interested in a guy before."

Kiba shuddered, and shoved his hands in his pockets. He was going to erase the memories of this last hour if it took him a year. He glanced sideways at his two sniggering packmates with reproach and stalked off. They followed him, unable to hold back their laughter any longer. It echoed off the walls of the apartments around them.

"HA HA HA HA HAAA!"

Kiba continued to walk.

Near the middle of the city, a group of young men were working feverishly around a large moving truck. In smaller groups of two and three, they were hauling out tables, chairs, and rugs from the tall apartment building out to the truck. One of the teenagers, standing by the truck, was looking at the driver's side seat in concern, though the occupant's face was hidden in shadow.

" Boss, is something wrong?" he asked.

" No, I thought I heard something . . ."

The teen cocked his head, puzzled. " I didn't hear anything."

" It's nothing. Get back to work."

The teen shrugged and hopped off the running board.

" . . ."

" Hey, Hige," Toboe bounded up alongside the older wolf, " I was wondering, where do you and Kiba live? I mean, you guys have been here all this time, and we never knew we were within the same zip code!"

" Well, I live not too far from where I found Kiba," Hige rested his hands behind his head as he walked. " I stay in the Yukon House at the college downtown. I room with a couple buddies of mine."

" College, huh? I never thought you'd be one for school."

" Yeah, well, I do it mainly for the social life. They have parties every night!" Hige let out a happy sigh and closed his eyes. " And the chicks are so hot . . ."

" Cut it out, I can practically see your tail wagging," Toboe rolled his eyes.

" Well, what about you, runt? Where do you stay?"

" With my grandma, O observant one."

" Psh. I knew that."

" Hey, Kiba, what about you? Where do you crash?"

Kiba looked back. " Do you guys smell that?"

Hige stopped and sniffed. " Smell what?"

" Aw, way to avoid the question," Toboe pouted, then sniffed as well.

" Does that smell familiar?" Kiba looked at them as they continued to sift the air.

" Let's see . . . I smell . . . mm, cheeseburgers," Hige responded. " And I think I can detect a hint of perfume in there as well . . .but what are you talking about, Kiba?"

" I can smell someone we all know."

Toboe and Hige looked at each other before looking at Kiba.

" Tsume?"

Kiba simply nodded once, and turned to continue walking. They followed him closely now. Toboe looked excited.

" Wow, all of us in one day," he said. " It's like something guided us to find each other, y'know?"

" Yeah, I'd never thought I'd see you guys within weeks of each other, and yet here we are," Hige agreed. Then he added under his breath, " Not that I'm in that much of a hurry to be called Porky again."

" We're getting closer," Kiba said, not looking at them.

They could all smell it now: Tsume's unmistakable scent, mixed with something that none of them could quite put their finger on . . .

They passed a large truck with bold letters stenciled on the side, and what looked like three long parallel slashes running diagonally across it as decoration. Kiba stopped in his tracks and read what the truck said. The other two followed his example.

" ' Tsume's Moving Company'?" Hige said in disbelief. " Of all the people –"

" He must be a busy guy," Toboe said in admiration. " He's got his own company. That's too cool."

" But I don't see him around here –"

" Hey, you guys want something?" a lanky teenager said, appearing on top of the truck.

" Or do you need someone to move your junk?" said another, hopping out of the storage section. About eight others appeared in various places where they had been lounging around the truck, all of them rather rough and mean-looking. They were all dressed in coveralls and jeans, which made them look ready for work.

" Do you guys know someone named Tsume?" Kiba asked bluntly. The teens were starting to come slowly off from their stations on the truck, and silently surround the three wolves. Toboe and Hige braced for a fight, but Kiba remained where he was, staring at the lanky one that had first spoken.

" Yeah, we know him," the first one said. " What's it to you?"

" We're looking for him," Kiba answered. " Do you know where he is?"

" Can't say I do," the teen replied with a sneer. " The boss comes and goes as he pleases."

" Kiba," Toboe said worriedly. " These guys look dangerous."

" Yeah, but Tsume can't be too far off. His scent's all over the place."

" I don't really want to fight," Hige sighed under his breath. " I just want a couple of hot dogs and I'll be fine."

The lanky teenager smirked. " Just for that comment, Porky, you'll be the first to go."

Hige's head snapped up, and he eyed the teen warily. " Okay, now I know you've been hanging around that jerk lately. No one's ever called me that but him."

The lanky teen only sneered. " And with good reason, ya fluffy –"

POW!

The lanky teen landed on his face, sprawling at Kiba's feet.

" Don't screw with us, beanpole," Hige said, rubbing his fist. " I wouldn't say that it's a good idea for someone your size."

The other teens around them shifted and got ready to charge, but at a single deadly glance from Kiba they all backed down.

" Where can we find him?" he asked quietly. The beanpole, now sporting a bloody nose, pointed at the apartment behind them.

" A-apartment thirty-five, fifth floor," he stammered. He watched them ascend the stairs and ventured to ask, " What, are you friends of his or something?"

" You might say that," Hige said over his shoulder.

What Kiba said next really confused them.

" We're his pack."

" Okay, Kiba, I know you don't trust elevators, but I don't think going up the stairs was too bright an idea either," Hige panted as they headed up the fifth flight of stairs. Toboe was waiting for them at the top. He had bounded up the stairs, come back down to run a couple of circles around them, and dashed back up to the top again.

Kiba didn't say anything. Hige sighed and dragged himself up the last few stairs.

" Come on, you guys! We're going to see Tsume!" Toboe took off running down the hallway, reading the numbers on the doors. Hige called after him.

" Wrong way, runt. Thirty-five's this way."

Toboe skidded to a halt and reversed direction.

" Let's see, thirty-three . . . thirty-four . . . ah! Here we go. Apartment thirty-five."

Toboe knocked on the door, barely able to keep from squirming with delight. Hige plonked his hand down on his head to keep him in one spot.

" Easy there. I don't think Tsume'll want you jumping all over him, even after a couple hundred years."

There was no response, even after they rang the doorbell a couple of times.

" Aw. . ." Toboe whined. " He's not here."

Kiba tried the door. It was unlocked.

" Hey, wait, Kiba!" Hige looked from the door to the hallway and back again in panic. " We can't do that! What if this isn't his apartment?"

" Well, we'll just have to find out, won't we?"

Kiba, Hige and Toboe poked their heads in through the open door. Yep, Tsume lived here all right. There was no denying his scent.

But he was nowhere to be seen. The apartment was empty. Not of furniture or anything, but Tsume didn't seem to be around.

The three slid in quietly after listening a moment for any sounds.

His apartment was well-furnished; evidently his moving company was doing well. It was doubtful that Tsume could hold down any job for any significant length of time, so he had taken it upon himself to create his own job. That seemed just about right for Tsume. As for the customer service he gave out . . . well, they didn't dare speculate.

It wasn't a huge apartment, but it was nice nonetheless. He had a big screen TV in the living room, a couple of leather sofas, a coffee table with some magazines on it: the usual apartment clutter. Toboe was about to go look at his reflection in the TV, but Hige stopped him.

" Don't," he advised, and with that they wandered into the next room. Kiba was the first to enter. He spotted Tsume's beloved knife on top of the dresser, lying on a folded cloth. It had evidently seen much use . . . again, they wouldn't ask.

They made their way through his bedroom. Kiba was just looking around at things; Hige was inspecting something on the chair, thinking in the back of his mind that somehow they shouldn't be here; Toboe, meanwhile, was drifting to the closed bathroom door.

Kiba turned, and sniffed. " Is that . . . steam?"

Hige picked up the something on the chair and turned it over, examining it. Toboe bent down to look at the bathroom doorknob. His eyes widened.

" Ooh . . . shiny," he said, mesmerized. His hand reached out for it. Hige turned around.

" Hey, I don't think-" he began, then froze. Toboe had his hand on the knob. " No, don't do it," Hige warned, the note of panic creeping back into his voice. " You don't want to –" The door clicked open.

Too late.

Steam came billowing out of the door like fog in a cheap special-effects flick, and sure enough, there was a tall figure that could be seen through the haze.

" Darth Vader?" Hige and Toboe whispered together. Kiba shook his head in disbelief and turned away, thinking _What idiots_.

Tsume, midway through the process of brushing his teeth after a relaxing hot shower, stood there staring back at them, wearing a towel around his waist, and another over his shoulder, but not much else.

He blinked.

Toboe fell over, twitching and foaming at the mouth.

Hige turned away, muttering," My eyes . . . must gouge out . . ." There was a pronounced group of sweatdrops sliding down the side of Kiba's face as he concentrated very hard on something fascinating outside the window.

Tsume was the first to speak.

" What the hell are you doing here?" he asked, a little indignantly. " Ever hear of a doorbell? Or knocking?"

" We caught your scent and went to see if you were around," Kiba said flatly.

" Well, I guess you found me," Tsume replied with a slight sneer. " And caught me too, fresh out of the shower. What good timing."

Hige sniffed the air, his back to Tsume.

" That scent . . . is that . . . coconut-scented shampoo?" he asked, then snapped his fingers and exclaimed, " It is! So that's what we were smelling!"

" Yeah? What about it?" Tsume growled, rubbing his hair vigorously with the towel over his shoulder. " Something wrong with coconut-scented shampoo?"

" No, no . . ." Hige replied meekly. " Just asking."

Tsume made a sound of disapproval, something between "Feh" and a " Hmph," and started into the room. As he did, a small voice asked, " Uh . . . Tsume? Could – could you put on some pants?"

He looked down. Toboe was staring up at him teary-eyed. Toboe, whom he hadn't seen in years.

" Yeah, sure." Resisting the urge to pick the pup up and hug him to death for being alive, Tsume stalked past him over to Hige, snatched the leather pants from the chair out of his hand and marched back into the bathroom.

" How does he get those on?" Hige muttered.

" I'd rather not know," Kiba answered.

Tsume came back a moment later, tightening his belt and fixing his earrings. He looked around for his jacket, spotted a grinning Hige holding it up, and proceeded to snatch that from him as well. They all watched with amazed faces as he put it on and zipped it up.

" My life is now complete," Hige said, clasping his hands in front of him and looking up. " I've seen Tsume put on his jacket. The mysteries of the universe unfold before me."

" Shut up, Porky," Tsume snarled, shooting death rays from his eyes at Hige and hooking his thumbs in his pockets (hands in pockets was a foreign concept to him, being both impossible with his pants' snug fit, and being extremely uncomfortable if he ever did get them in. He'd tried once . . . but only once. It had taken him an hour to free them from their snare).

" So, uh, what now?" Hige asked, mainly to break the silence and to get Tsume to stop glaring at him.

" Let's go to the park!" Toboe exclaimed, bounding up from where he had been poking at Tsume's DVD collection.

" And do what?"

" We could run! And – and play fetch!" Toboe bounced around Hige and Kiba. " Then we can chase butterflies!"

Kiba, Tsume, and Hige exchanged glances.

" Hey Tsume!" The pup came racing toward him at warp speed. " Do you have a frisbee?"

Tsume caught Toboe's arm as he passed and flung him into a chair, but not roughly.

" Stay there," he ordered, jabbing his finger at the squirming Toboe, who was protesting, " But – but – but . . ."

" No. We are not playing fetch, you hear me?" He glanced at the other older wolves, and they nodded. " We are not chasing butterflies, either." He stopped at the look on Toboe's face, which was a mixture of pleading and " But I'm so cute you can't resist the power of my tearful eyes." He sighed, and stood up.

" Fine. But not the park, runt."

" But where?" Hige wanted to know.

" How about Main Street?" Kiba suggested. His proposal was met with three very different responses: a "Yay!" followed by a heart from Toboe; " But all the hot chicks are working by now" from Hige; and an unintelligible grunt from Tsume, carrying the meaning, " I just got out of the shower and frankly I don't care."

" Main Street it is, then," Kiba resolved, and the four wolves filed out of the apartment, but not before Hige had ransacked Tsume's stash of chocolate bars and earned himself a whack to the head.

" Porky," Tsume muttered, annoyed.

" I guess things haven't changed, have they?" Toboe asked Kiba.

" No, they haven't."

Well, I guess that's it for today. This was the longest chapter yet, but then again, it's only the third one, so... Anyhow, thanks again to all who read this, and don't mind that ninja lurking in the corner, it's probably just me . . . Later!


	4. Showdown at the Arcade

tsume.hack: who did the disclaimer last time?

All: (shrug)

tsume.hack: sigh . . . I guess I'll do it myself, then . . . I don't own Wolf's Rain or the characters contained within it. But I wishI did.

All: (snickering)

tsume.hack: you guys really need to stop picking on me . . .

Oh, thanks to all who read the last chapters. Sorry about the delay in updates . . . um, I had finals and a pile of homework to do. End of the quarter, and my Typography teacher thinks it'd be fun to give his students what he thinks is an easy final assignment, but seeing as Typography is the class from hell . . . well, I'll spare you all the gory details. I'm done with that class, thank God, but I'm going to be busy all next week. . . But I'll try to post stuff a lot sooner . . . (silence) Or is it just me typing to myself? (singing) ". . . Am I alone? Is somebody there beyond these heavy aching feet . . ." (dodges soup cans and rotten tomatoes) Argh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to rupture your eardrums! Ah, anyway, on to the story, I've tortured you enough with my senseless paragraph of nonsense...;;

The four wolves walked along Main Street, with Kiba in front, Toboe and Hige in the middle, and Tsume pulling up the rear as always. It was just like old times, only they were all humans and didn't have to hide from anybody anymore. Which, of course, no one minded too much, except Kiba. He was evidently still skeptical about being a human.

But while he was with his pack, he didn't have too much time to think about it; Hige kept elbowing Toboe and laughing about it; Toboe was complaining loudly, and Tsume was telling Porky to knock it off.

Toboe finally ran to catch up to Kiba, saying over his shoulder, " I'm gonna walk with Kiba; at least he won't push me around like you, Hige."

Hige only shrugged and said carelessly, " Whatever, runt."

They passed sidewalk cafes and stores selling flowers and gifts, PC lounges and karaoke clubs, noodle shops and booksellers. They paused to gaze in the window of a pet store, marveling at the exotic fish in the huge tank, until Hige remarked that they looked rather yummy, and asked the owner how much he was selling them for and what the best way to cook them was . . . and then they had to leave. The irate shopkeeper chased them out of his store brandishing a mop and threatening to wipe them from the face of the planet . . . ha, wipe, get it? Anyway . . .

" Wrinkled old fart," Hige said, nodding his head wisely as they continued down the street. " What a jerk. He couldn't even take a joke."

" Don't lie, we know you wanted to eat those fish, you walking stomach," Toboe said, poking the aforementioned body part on Hige's anatomy, prompting a " Hey! No touchie!" and a reproachful glare. Tsume, walking behind them, snickered in amusement. Hige turned to glare at him.

" You've got a bottomless pit for a stomach too, leather boy, so don't laugh at me and mine."

Tsume yawned, ignoring the death ray eyes, and called to Kiba, " So, where to now?"

Kiba was about to answer, but suddenly Toboe raced ahead and pointed excitedly,

" Hey, look over there, you guys!" He waved his arm, indicating a neon-lit building boasting enough voltage to power a small city. " Look! It's an arcade! Let's go see!"

The pup took off running. Hige looked at Kiba, who shrugged wordlessly and followed. Tsume sighed and followed as well, thumbs still hooked in his pockets.

When they got to the arcade Toboe raced inside and scurried from game to game, unable to decide which to play first. The others followed at a more leisurely pace.

" Hey, cool, look at this," Hige said, hefting a huge hunting rifle, part of a deer-hunting simulator. " Look at me, I'm Quent."

Tsume pushed past him. " Not funny, Porky."

" Well, _sor-ry_. I thought a couple hundred years would've settled any grudges you had against the guy, but I guess I was wrong." Hige tossed the rifle back, and caught up to Tsume just as he was passing a row of racing games.

Tsume halted, and Hige collided with him, mashing his nose against the leather-bound back of his packmate.

" Ow!" he yelped, holding his nose gingerly, " Don' stob lige da!" Translation: Don't stop like that. He squinted, trying to see the extent of the damage, but Tsume wasn't paying attention.

" Cool . . . street racing," he grinned, ignoring his friend's injuries, and with that he plonked himself down on the molded plastic seat to lose himself in the joys of Gran Turismo 4.

" Urgh . . . everyone's gone crazy," Hige muttered as he left the racing aisle to find Kiba and Toboe.

But he wasn't looking as he rounded a corner and bumped rather forcefully into Kiba's head, smashing his nose a second time and bringing tears of pain to his eyes. Kiba, whose hard head was on the same level as his stubbornness, simply looked back in mild interest before resuming his prior diversion of watching Toboe playing a lively round of Dance Dance Revolution. Hige joined him, eyes still watering.

When his score flashed after three rounds, Toboe danced on the platform, yelling,

" Yeah, all right! Betcha can't beat that! Woo-hoo!"

" Oh yeah?" Hige said, coming up to join him on the second platform. He had recovered from getting his nose rearranged twice, and was ready for some action. " Let's do this, runt. I'm gonna beat you so bad, you'll run home crying."

" Yeah, right. Betcha I'll win you by a good thousand points."

" No dice. I'll flatten you."

" I don't think so."

" Fine, then, smartie. Three out of five. We'll bet on it. Loser does whatever the winner says," Hige extended his hand, daring Toboe to take him up on it.

Toboe took the proffered hand and shook it with a grin. " Your funeral, Hige."

" Whatever. This game was over before it started."

Toboe stopped, and looked sheepish. " I don't have any money," he explained, trying to look and sound as cute as possible. " Kiba lent me some, but I used it all already."

Hige sighed and fished a couple of bucks from his pocket.

A moment later the announcer blared, " _Let's D-D-R! Give it your best_!"

Toboe grinned at Hige. " Are you ready for this?"

" Bring it on, ya pup," came the reply.

Kiba leaned against a handy pinball machine and watched with well-concealed glee.

The music began, and the battle started . . .

Tsume gave the wheel a spin and added his name to the High Scores list. He'd have to come back another day and claim the number one spot, but still, second place wasn't too bad. He got up, stretched, and went to find the others. After getting himself a soda from the machine, he resumed the search, wandering between the blinking, beeping, and clamoring machines.

He was in the middle of taking a drink from his soda when he happened upon them, and the most amusing of sights met his eyes.

Toboe was doing his victory dance again (for the umpteenth time) while a gasping Hige clung to one of the handlebars, his white T-shirt soaked in sweat and sticking to his back. His sweatshirt was thrown in a heap on a Pac-Man game, evidently tossed away in the heat of battle.

" So, Porky got himself in over his head, did he?" Tsume asked the silently observing Kiba, who nodded wordlessly but was smirking to himself all the same.

" How about seven out of ten?" Hige panted, pulling himself to his feet. His hair was soaked dark with perspiration, while Toboe, though a little out of breath, seemed to have suffered no loss of energy over the course of the game. His antics on the platform spoke volumes.

" No way, I won!" the pup beamed. " You got beat bad, admit it! Whee!" He went off into another jig. Tsume was impressed.

" Good stamina for a pup."

Hige looked up at Kiba in despair. " You play him," he pleaded. " I can't lose to a kid like him. Redeem a fellow wolf? Please?" He tried to make some puppy eyes, but all it did was make Tsume choke on his soda.

" No thanks," Kiba said, whacking Tsume's back as he coughed.

" Aw, c'mon . . . " Hige wheedled, then he stopped as a brilliant thought occurred to him. He grinned and added slyly, " I bet you're scared he'll beat you too; that's why you don't want to play him, isn't it? Aw . . . is mighty Kiba scared a widdle pup is gonna embarrass him on a dancing game?"

Kiba looked back at Hige very slowly and just stared at him.

" You don't want to make a fool of yourself in front of us, so you just play your I'm-too-cool-for-that-nonsense card and try to brush it off, huh?" Hige continued to push in a mocking voice.

Kiba's eyes were burning now.

There was no going back now, so Hige went for broke and sang, " Kiba's a fraidy-cat - no, _wolf _– Kiba's a fraidy-wolf, Kiba's a fraidy-wolf! La lala la la laaa!" He did a clumsy jig on the dance pad and laughed.

Kiba snapped.

He stomped up to the machine and shoved Hige out of the way, sending him flying.

" Start the game," he growled, not looking at Toboe, who was only too happy to oblige; he had a new opponent now, so he was happy.

Tsume, meanwhile, had taken a perch on a stool to watch the fun. He sat in it, tipping backward and enjoying his soda, while the two combatants in front of him began dancing in time to the music. Hige grabbed another stool and followed his example, drying his hair with his sweatshirt before pulling it back on.

" Well, that was fun," he remarked. " Kiba sure is mad, though. Listen."

They could hardly hear the music over the sound of Kiba stomping on the arrow buttons. It looked as though he was trying to break a hole in the machine.

" At least he's into it," Hige said over the noise. " I've never seen him this into a game before. Was it something I said?"

" Heh . . . probably not."

Twenty minutes and three games later . . .

" Toboe wins again!" came the triumphant way-cry, and the victory dance was repeated as Kiba slowly stepped off the platform and picked his jacket up from where he had dropped it in the middle of the game. Like Hige before him, he was steeped in sweat and his shirt was soaked.

" Great, now both of you are gonna smell like a pair of gym bags," Tsume complained as the white wolf joined them.

Hige tried to comfort his friend, saying, " Aw, don't take it so hard . . . You did pretty good. You tried."

Kiba sat down and stared ahead listlessly. He must have been in deep shock about the outcome.

" Maybe if Cheza had been here, we could've seen him breakdance on the pads or something," Hige muttered under his breath. Tsume snorted and continued drinking his soda.

Toboe, however, wasn't about to let him off that easily. He was going for three straight wins, and Tsume was his next target.

" C'mon, Tsume!" Toboe yelled, waving at him. " You've gotta play too!"

" I don't think so."

" Aw . . . please?"

" No. And don't try the puppy eyes on me."

" Actually, you do have to play," Hige spoke up from his seat. Tsume looked down at him, eyebrow raised in irritation. Hige laughed nervously and went on, " Well,

y'see . . . I, uh, kinda made a bet with the kid . . . and, and . . . if, um, he won, he could name whatever he wanted for the loser to do, and, well, I kinda lost . . . so I made a deal with him that if either of you could win him at DDR, he'd call off the bet." Hige gestured to the defeated Kiba, still staring into space. " And Kiba here . . . well…"

" So you want me to win the bet for you?" Tsume finished.

" Uh-huh," Hige grinned hopefully. His smile faded when Tsume gave a dismissive "hmph" and resumed rocking back in his chair and drinking his soda. Toboe pouted for a second, then yelled out, " Tsume, if you don't play me right now, I'm gonna tell my granny – " Kiba jumped at the word " – that you use coconut-scented shampoo! And then she'll want to smell your hair to see if it's true! And Kiba already knows how creepy my grandma –" Another jump. "- can be around guys she thinks are cute!"

" Are you threatening me?" Tsume demanded, getting up from his chair. Hige cheered, thinking a fight between the two was imminent.

" That's exactly what I'm doing!"

" I'm not scared of nobody's granny –"

" Stop saying that word!" Kiba snarled, annoyed at having jumped three times.

" This is all your fault, Porky!" Tsume suddenly whirled on Hige, who shrank back.

" Ack! It wasn't me, I swear!" he protested, as Tsume grabbed his collar and began choking him.

" Aw, c'mon, don't be like that!" Toboe called from where he was now perched on the game's handrail. " Don't kill Hige just cuz you're a party pooper!"

" I'm not a party pooper," Tsume said, straightening up and dusting his hands off. Then, to Hige, " I'm doing this for me, not you. You're the one who got yourself into this mess. If you want to make a bet, fine. But leave me out of it. And leave my shampoo out of it, too!" he finished, directing this last remark to Toboe, who only grinned innocently.

He threw his soda away and joined Toboe on the dance pad. " What?"

Toboe was smiling at him sweetly. " Um . . . I don't have any money."

" . . ."

" _You're one bad dude_," the announcer voice chirped at the game's end.

Final score: Toboe: 8. Tsume: 2.

Overall, the score was – Toboe: 14, the rest of them: 4. Kiba had won one game, Hige had won a game simply because he kept pushing Toboe off the pad, and Tsume managed to scrape by with two games. The three older wolves watched in disbelief as the pup started up another game with money he borrowed from Tsume, who like the two defeated wolves before him had to shrug out of his jacket midway through the battle. Now he sat underneath an AC vent, his back against a shooting game, trying to look as though being beaten by a pup wasn't a sore blow to his pride, as it had been to the others.

" Yeah . . . we suck," Hige concluded, watching Toboe.

As they were leaving, Toboe danced circles around them, singing and laughing.

" Man, we were counting on you to save us," Hige sighed mournfully to Tsume, who immediately snapped back, " Shut up! I did better than you! And you didn't even play fair!"

Kiba said nothing, but they could tell he was not pleased.

" So what exactly were the terms of the bet?" Tsume wanted to know as they made their way back down Main Street. Hige had, of course, procured some food for himself in the form of yet another pair of hot dogs and and was busy eating; he swallowed hastily and grinned cheesily.

" Well . . ." he looked away as Toboe danced by. " Uh . . . we have to do whatever the pup tells us to," he muttered under his breath, hoping Tsume wouldn't catch it. He did.

" What? Who the hell came up with that idea?"

" Kiba," Hige said quickly, but Kiba was pointing at him.

" And what exactly do we have to do?" Tsume asked suspiciously, not liking this idea more and more with each passing second. Both Kiba and Hige shrugged.

" Hee hee hee hee . . ." Toboe giggled, poking his head around Tsume, who looked down with the most unamused expression seen up until that point. And yes, unamused is now a word. " I know exactly what I want you guys to do."

" Hey, it can't be anything nasty or whatever," Hige hastily added.

" It wasn't going to be nasty, but if you want me to, I can . . ." Toboe began, but was cut off by an angry, "NO!" from both Kiba and Tsume. They received a blank stare from the younger two, and quickly switched their gazes somewhere else.

" It's something really easy," Toboe continued. " All you have to do is switch clothes."

" That's it?" Hige asked incredulously. " There's gotta be a catch . . . "

" Well, I was going to invite you guys over to my house tomorrow, so you could switch clothes then."

" That's it?" Hige repeated, eyeing Toboe. " I don't trust you . . . "

" No way," Kiba said quietly. They all looked at him. " I'm not going over there while that . . . " he shuddered, " – old woman is there."

" Aw . . . c'mon, Kiba," Toboe said, his big eyes now directed toward the alpha wolf. " My granny isn't that bad. She's actually really nice to guests, and she makes great meat loaf."

Tsume saw Kiba's ear twitch at the mention of meat loaf.

" She makes . . . meat loaf?" Kiba repeated, staring down Toboe, who nodded enthusiastically.

" Uh-huh! And her apple pie's to die for!" Toboe closed his eyes and sighed deeply, remembering. " Ahh . . . especially when it comes fresh out of the oven, with that moist flaky crust, and all hot and apple-gooey inside, mmm . . ."

Hige and Tsume looked at each other, both suddenly hearing their stomachs give a very loud and prolonged " _Grrrrrwwwwllllll _. . . "

" . . . and you smother it in vanilla ice cream and it melts all over the pie, running down the sides in cold white cascades of absolute deliciousness . . . "

Hige whimpered. Tsume tried to look as though his stomach wasn't eating itself.

" . . . but the pie is still so warm and good, and when you eat both the pie and the ice cream together it's like Paradise on a plate . . . "

Kiba finally snapped out of the visions of pie and ice cream bowls dancing around in his head, and said to Toboe, " That's enough! Okay, we'll do it . . ." The two others heaved a deep sigh, the spell broken. " . . . but make sure your granny keeps her hands off me, okay?" he finished in a confidential whisper. Toboe nodded, a huge grin plastered on his face.

" No problem!"

They said good-bye to Toboe at the end of Main Street and watched as he scampered away. Then the three headed back to Tsume's apartment for a quick conference.

" Okay, so we have to decide who gets whose clothes," Hige said, absorbed in playing Tsume's holographic shooter game in the living room. Kiba ducked as one of the glowing blue planes zoomed over his head and flew around the ceiling. Hige shot it down and concentrated on a cluster of three just coming in to attack. He raised the cool-looking plastic gun turret and swiveled around in the chair, tracking them and dealing out justice in three-round bursts. He let out a "Woot! I'm ace!" just as Tsume entered from the kitchen and shut down the game.

" Aaw . . . " Hige said as the lights clicked on. He tossed the gun down and looked up in disappointment. " I was just getting warmed up, too."

" We're not here to play around," Kiba put in, before Tsume could retort. " We're here to figure out who to switch with, like you were saying a second ago."

" I said that?" Hige asked, looking confused. " Funny, I don't remember . . . "

" If you hadn't been so absorbed in mooching off my game, you would have," Tsume answered, wrapping the gun's cord around it and stowing it in the cabinet under the TV. Hige suddenly leaped forward, almost tackling him in his eagerness to see something in the cabinet.

" Was that a dating sim?" he demanded. " I thought I saw a dating sim . . . "

" Get off me, Porky," Tsume snarled, shoving him off. " My game system's none of your business." Hige slumped back on the couch and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

" So, back to the question at hand: Who switches with who?" Kiba asked from his spot on the easy chair. No one said anything.

Hige glanced at his two packmates and considered carefully. _I guess switching with Kiba wouldn't be so bad_, he thought. _But Tsume . . . brr_. He looked at the leather pants, ripped jacket and gray undershirt, and shuddered involuntarily.

Tsume looked at the other two and thought with a frown, _Either way I'm screwed. Either it's too baggy . . ._ Here he shot a glance at Hige. _– Or it's too . . . Kiba. Dammit_.

Kiba just looked at his two friends and sighed inwardly.

" Here, let's just rock, paper, scissors it," he said, when the silence had pervaded the atmosphere for a whole seven minutes. " It'll be a lot easier and nothing to argue about." The other two agreed reluctantly.

" Winner chooses who he wants to switch with, then the other two will switch," he continued. Hige stepped up, rotating his arm as though warming up.

" I'll go first," he said with a confident grin. " No way am I getting Tsume's stuff."

" Okay . . . rock, paper, scissors!"

Hige held out a fist. Kiba's hand formed the peace sign. Hige jumped up and cheered.

" Awright! I get Kiba's stuff! Yeah! No leather for me!"

Tsume watched him, mildly amused. " It's not like you could fit in my clothes, anyway, Porky," he said, raising an eyebrow. " And I don't plan on having to sew the arms back on my jacket after you get through popping the seams."

" They're more than half off anyway," Hige shot back. " You oughta get them fixed."

" Give it a rest, you two," Kiba said. " Okay, it's settled then. Hige gets my stuff, I get Tsume's, Tsume gets Hige's. All clear?"

The other two nodded, one grinning.

" Okay, then. We'll meet here tomorrow and switch, then head over to Toboe's. I'll see you guys later." Kiba got up and left. Hige followed closely.

" See ya, Tsume. Tomorrow you get a fashion makeover," Hige called from the hallway, laughing, as the door closed behind him.

" Shut up," Tsume muttered.

Well, that's it for the fourth chapter! I made it longer to make up for the time I didn't update . . . hey, put down your pitchforks, I had finals, all right? Well, anyway, I hope you enjoyed it, and I shall see you next time! Later!


	5. Granny Attack!

Yo, it's me. I actually had time to work on this chapter, what with spring break and all. It started off as a friendly game of DDR and quickly escalated into something much, much worse. I'm scared by how bad it's gotten. Granny's making her second appearance, and Kiba's wearing Tsume's clothing. Hmmmm . . . I wonder what will happen . . . sadly, _I _had no idea what was going to happen; I just started typing things as they occurred to me. Somehow it came out in coherent story form. I'd like to thank all my reviewers, especially Kiba, who has read everything before I posted except this chapter (_mwa ha ha ha ha . . . _), and who has ph34red with great ph34r. "Should you be scared?" Yes . . . be afraid, be _very _afraid.

Hige whistled cheerfully as the elevator ascended to the fifth floor. He grinned to himself, thinking that Kiba had gotten the raw end of the deal, having to wear Tsume's clothes to Toboe's house. It was kind of sad, and he should have felt sorry for the guy, but all the same, he was relieved and amused at the same time that it wasn't him.

The elevator stopped with a "ding" and Hige hopped out just in time to see Kiba walking by. " Hey!" he exclaimed. " How'd you get up here so fast?"

Kiba stopped long enough to let him catch up. " I took the stairs," he said simply. " I don't like elevators."

Hige followed him down the hallway, shaking his head. Kiba's mistrust of all moving conveyances would never change. He knocked on number thirty-five's door and stood twiddling his hands in his pockets.

" It's open!" Tsume's muffled voice hollered from behind the door. They opened it and saw Tsume sitting in front of the TV with a strange-looking helmet of sorts on his head, a glowing green visor covering his eyes like the faceplate of a motorcycle helmet. They stopped short at the sight; Tsume stared back at them.

" What? Haven't you guys ever played that one online game . . . ?"

They both stared at him blankly. Tsume shook his head and took off the helmet.

" You guys are amazingly clueless. I was about to quit anyway." He gathered up the gaming gear scattered around him and began piling it into a cabinet.

" So, uh . . . when are we gonna switch?" Hige asked, looking from one to the other. Tsume grunted and scratched the back of his head, muttering something about cheap game gear from America.

" We might as well get it over with," Kiba said in a low voice. He looked worried about something, and they could very well guess what it was. But he took off his jacket and handed it to Hige.

" Change in the bathroom," Tsume instructed him, then to Kiba, " And you can grab my stuff in the room, it's hanging on the door."

Kiba went into the bedroom and after a minute handed his shirt and jeans to Hige through the door, who in turn went into the bathroom to change.

Hige came out a moment later wearing Kiba's jacket, jeans, and shirt. He had even pushed up the sleeves on the jacket.

" So, how do I look?" he asked, grinning at Tsume.

" Just like him, only with an added thirty pounds or so," Tsume answered, turning on the TV and reclining on the couch.

" Hey!"

A couple of minutes passed. Tsume and Hige were watching cartoons when Kiba poked his head around the door. " Hey, Tsume . . . "

" What."

" Could you . . . uh, come here and give me a hand with this?"

" With what?"

" I . . . I'm having some trouble getting into your jacket."

Tsume rolled his eyes and got up from the couch to help while Hige fell off his chair laughing helplessly. As he was picking himself up he could hear Tsume coaching Kiba in the finer points of wearing leather.

" No, not like that!" Tsume was saying angrily. " You're gonna mess up the sleeves!"

" But they're already messed up!" Kiba returned just as angrily. " They're about to rip off!"

" I've been wearing that jacket for years, and the sleeves have never come off, so you better watch how you wave your arms!"

" I can't even zip this stupid thing up!"

" It's not too hard. Just suck in your stomach a bit and there should be no problem."

" Why is this thing so short?" Kiba's voice rose indignantly. " I can see my stomach! I've gotta adjust these damn pants – " There was the sound of leather being pulled. " Argh!"

" Hey, you can't go pulling these pants up like that or you'll give yourself a wedgie," Tsume said in a tone that indicated his patience was pretty much spent. " Kinda like you did just now."

There was no more noise for a minute or so; Kiba was suffering in silence. Then he came out of the bathroom with as much of his former dignity as he could muster, walked stiff-legged over to the sofa, and sat down gingerly. Hige was watching him with a smug smile, snickering once or twice. Kiba glared at him, then began struggling into Tsume's zip-up boots. Oddly enough, they fit.

Tsume was a little quicker; he came out wearing Hige's baggy clothes – a far cry from his usual beloved leather – with a frown.

" Don't even think about it," he warned, lacing up the gray sneakers, as Hige opened his mouth and pointed to his collar. " I'm not gonna wear that thing; this is bad enough."

" Whatever," Hige shrugged, pulling the collar back on.

" Let's get going," Kiba said, pulling himself together and standing to his feet, and the two followed him out the door.

" Cripes, this thing is baggy," Tsume remarked, pulling at the yellow hoodie. Hige looked over at him.

" Baggy is in, tight is out. Save the tight, revealing clothing for the ladies."

" Please do," Kiba grumbled, still trying to figure out how to get the jacket and pants close enough together to cover his middle. So far he'd only succeeded in giving himself two more murphs, and a third one seemed imminent.

" Well, I don't know about you guys," Hige began in a self-righteous tone, " But I'm pretty comfortable in this." They both turned very slowly to look at him.

" You do realize that we're in this mess only because of you and your big mouth?" Tsume snarled. Hige backed off, hands raised in defense.

" Hey, just look on the bright side . . . You're getting a change of pace in your wardrobe! You're, uh, broadening your horizons! Right, Kiba? Right –?"

The cold glare he received stopped any further discussion.

" . . . I think I'll shut up now."

" You do that."

They pulled up in front of Toboe's house about twenty minutes later. Kiba looked nervous; he kept glancing out of the window as though expecting to see an ominous shadow looming over him and squealing with feminine delight.

Unperturbed, Hige hopped out of the driver's side and slammed the door. There was a movement at one of the windows inside, and a second later Toboe came racing out of the house to greet them.

" Hey guys! What's up?" He skidded to a stop on the sidewalk at the sight of them all wearing different clothes, then he laughed and raised a hand to the back of his head.

" You look good!" he grinned, unmoved by the deadpan stares that greeted him, and with that led them into the house. Kiba halted just outside the door, but Tsume pushed him in.

" You're the leader around here, or you're supposed to be, anyway. Show some backbone," he said in a low growl. Kiba stiffened, but went forward as Toboe led them down a short hallway and into the living room, motioning for them to sit on the couches. Hige sniffed the air with delight as he sank into the cushiony pillows.

" Man, that smells good!" he exclaimed. " When's dinner?"

" Grandma's been done for a while now, but she's busy setting up the table all fancy and stuff. We don't get guests that often," Toboe explained.

" Toboe?" called a familiar voice from the kitchen. " Can you come here for a moment, please?" At the sound, Kiba leapt to his feet instinctively and crouched as though to run.

" Whoa, you're not going anywhere," Tsume said, grabbing Kiba's jacket collar as he made to escape down the hall, strong-arming the fugitive back down on the couch. " You'll sit there and wait for dinner, like a good wolf."

" Coming," Toboe answered, and left them the remote for the TV, telling them to entertain themselves for a bit. As they sat there, Kiba got a bad case of the jitters and kept looking around anxiously. Hige finally got irritated and grabbed the remote from him, flipping the channel to the news.

The weather man was standing in front of a digital screen showing a map of the city, saying, " Look out, folks, it's looking like another wet spell is headed towards us." He gestured to a dark cluster of what had to be clouds. " You'll see here that this warm front is headed this way, and with this cool front here – " Another gesture. " They'll collide somewhere around here, and that will, of course, somehow produce a rainstorm!" He stepped up to the camera and held up a warning finger. " So be prepared!"

" Ooh-kay," Hige said, flipping the channel again. " That was just odd." He began flipping through channels at random. They caught bits and pieces of each program as it blinked by. " – _buy a new, improved Vortex blender _–" " – _leet speak in ten weeks _–" " – _you love me, we're a happy_-" " – _save the kittens!_" " – _top ten swimsuit models _– " " – _flowers of the world _–" " – _vacation in Rome_ – "

" Hey, go back, go back!" Kiba suddenly urged. They both looked at him as though he'd sprouted wings.

" What's your problem?" Tsume asked, settling back on the couch after shooting him an odd glance.

" That's right, what channel were those swimsuit models on?" Hige muttered, leaning forward, remote raised. Kiba grabbed it from him.

" Not _that_!" he said, flipping through the channels almost frantically. " I thought that I saw –" He suddenly stopped and stared, spellbound. " There . . . "

" What?" They both followed his gaze to the television, which showed the calm, sunlit interior of a greenhouse, with potted plants lining the tables and shelves. A few brightly-colored orchids were scattered among the more homely plants.

" Uh, Kiba . . . " Hige began, looking at him worriedly. " Are you okay . . .?"

" Shh!" Kiba hissed. " Listen!"

A young woman's voice was speaking. It was quiet and held a certain light, lilting tone. And it sounded oddly . . . familiar.

" Let them bathe in the sunlight and you will see a big difference in the way they look," she was saying about a vase of flowers, obviously the focus of the discussion." If you keep them inside too long, they might wither and die. Even the smallest flower enjoys drinking in the sun . . ."

They were all frozen, staring at the TV and listening to the speaker's voice. The young woman was offscreen, and they couldn't see her face, but the same thought was going through the mind of all three wolves as she continued to talk about the cluster of pure white flowers on the table before the camera.

" These flowers enjoy bathing in moonlight . . . There's an old, old legend that goes back hundreds of years concerning these particular flowers, and what they used to be called–"

Kiba's heart caught in his throat. It was beating faster and faster, and far off, in a distant corner of his mind, he was recalling the face and scent of another young girl, with a voice just like . . . just like . . .

" _This one _. . . " the young woman said, and her hand reached out to touch one of the petals.

Hige gasped. Tsume looked startled for a second.

" Is that - ? Is she – ?"

Kiba couldn't say anything.

The camera panned over and showed the young woman sitting on a low stool among the flowers, her back to the camera. Her light pink hair shimmered in the sunlight as it filtered through the translucent green ceiling and splashed on her white blouse and skirt. Kiba noticed she was wearing a gold bracelet on each arm. Strange . . .

She turned to the camera and smiled. Like a snapshot in time, each one in that living room sitting enthralled by her voice saw her dark crimson eyes, her smile, her hair . . .

" Cheza . . . " Kiba whispered.

At that moment Toboe came back, saying, " Hey guys, dinner's ready . . ." He froze, seeing the young woman on the TV. A look of surprised recognition slowly crept into his face as he stared along with the other three.

" No way . . . her too . . . ?"

No one spoke. Cheza, or the girl that looked remarkably like her, down to the pink hair and not-occurring-in-nature red eyes, was still speaking about the white flowers on the table, which were, of course, lunar flowers. The carefree, lucid way she carried herself had not changed over the years, nor the easy grace with which she moved. Kiba couldn't take his eyes from her.

" After all this time . . . " he murmured.

" Toboe? Toboe, are your friends coming to dinner?" asked a voice from the kitchen, jerking them all back to reality, but Kiba most of all.

Granny stood in the doorway leading to the dining room, apron still securely in place. She had made an effort to do her hair, but she seemed to be missing her owl lookalike glasses, which made Hige sigh with relief as he stood to his feet and prepared to follow Toboe into the dining room. He stiffened with shock, however, when Granny suddenly swooped down and pounced on him as though she were – well, _him_ pouncing on a pretty girl. Bewildered, he went red with embarrassment and struggled to break free.

" Well, look who came to see me!" the old woman cackled in glee, refusing to break her grip. " Thought you'd play hard to get a couple of days ago, but you can't fool me, now can you?" He recoiled in sheer terror from her toothless gums.

: cut to view of Earth from space:

" _ARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!"_

Tsume grinned to himself evilly as he passed the mashed potatoes over to Toboe, who caught his glance and giggled in response. Even Kiba was holding back a smile of amusement at the sight of Hige, trapped in Kiba's clothes and Granny's clutches, sitting at the head of the table where she could keep him under her thumb. He tried to catch their eyes and plead silently for help, but the three seemed to find their plates extraordinarily fascinating and were heading through their second helpings while he could barely stomach the salad.

" Her glasses broke this morning, and she won't get the replacements for a couple of days," Toboe whispered to the other two behind a heaping plate of dinner rolls. " So I guess she was only looking for your clothes, Kiba, not your face."

Kiba exhaled a sigh of relief, but didn't move from his position at the opposite end of the table, behind the gravy boat, salt shaker, and juice jug, where it was less likely she would notice him. He cringed every time she got up to get something from the oven or the fridge, and passed by him. He seemed safe for the moment, though, since she was totally focused on Hige.

" Why aren't you saying anything, dear?" she asked, scooting her chair closer. Hige scooted farther away. " You've barely touched your food . . . Is that why you're so scrawny?" Her hand took his wrist – Hige barely stifled a yelp – and she frowned thoughtfully.

" You seem to have put on a little weight since I last saw you," she said at last, releasing his wrist. " No matter. Eat up, dearie, I've got plenty more where that came from."

Tsume sniggered overhis apple pie at the distressed look on Hige's face. Toboe actually had to leave to go to the bathroom where he could laugh in peace.

After dinner, they went to sit in the living room and relax, and watch Hige suffer more from Granny's unwanted and very misdirected attentions. Kiba had actually let his guard down a little after realizing that Granny didn't recognize him, and was taking it easy on the couch while Hige glared at him. Toboe was talking to Tsume, who was pretending to ignore him while keeping half his attention focused on reading the TV guide.

" Excuse me just a moment, honey, I have to get something from my room," Granny announced, stood slowly and walked out. Taking advantage of her brief absence, Hige jumped up and began pulling off the jacket furiously.

" Take back your stinkin' clothes, Kiba!" he demanded, freeing one arm from the sleeves. " I don't wanna be that lady's lapdog! _You're _the one she's after, not me!"

" You're just getting payback for getting us into this mess to begin with," Tsume said without looking up from the TV guide.

" Yeah, you brought Kiba and Tsume into a bet that wasn't even theirs, and now karma's come around to bite you in the ass," Toboe said matter-of-factly. Hige turned on him.

" I don't even want to hear it from you, ya little runt," he said between clenched teeth, still struggling with the jacket. " If you hadn't won . . . Hey! Don't grin at me like that!"

" I have no idea what you're talking about . . ."

Kiba just shrugged and resumed looking at the TV, remembering the sight of that girl on the flower program.

" I'm so sorry . . . " Granny came back straightening her hair. " I was looking around for my kerchief and I found these in my closet – " She held up pair of thick glasses. Kiba looked over and froze.

In slow motion, they all saw her lift the glasses to her face and put them on, pushing the bridge up a little with her finger. Then she smiled at them, scanning their faces.

Kiba saw her eyes rest on him and linger, and he felt suddenly exposed, like meat on display in a deli window.

_Oh, crap_ . . . he thought, remembering painfully that he was wearing Tsume's clothes. Which meant . . .

Tight leather. Exposed chest. Not exactly what he needed right now, with a rabid granny of a fangirl staring him down at the moment. And drooling, of course.

And advancing very slowly and stealthily, ready to pounce on him. Her prey.

" Get away!" he yelled, as she dove at him with remarkable speed and agility. It was amazing what hormones could do to a person. Adrenaline pumping, Kiba jumped over the fallen couch and dodged her outstretched arms.

" Oh, please, take me away!" she cried in ecstatic delight, still pursuing. Kiba lobbed a pillow at her, but all it did was make her giggle.

" Ooh, a pillowfight? I've got lots of pillows upstairs, sweetheart . . . "

" Argh! Keep away from me, you sick, twisted person! Don't touch me with your evil hands! Bad, _bad_ touch!"

Hige and Toboe sat calmly, watching their leader and his female pursuer race all over the house, upsetting plants, bookcases, and lamps, while Tsume sat on the sofa still perusing the TV guide. Once, he looked up in irritation and called, " Could you keep it down? _Geez _. . . " before going back to reading.

After twenty minutes of being chased by an emotion-driven, sight-crazy Granny, Kiba was thankful that his stamina was still what it used to be. Granny had collapsed on her easy chair in the living room, ending the chase . . . for now. He lurked at the top of the stairs, half hoping all that running would give the old woman a heart attack or something along those lines – anything that would give him enough time to make his escape out the front door, which she hadn't neglected to guard.

She'd kept him running long enough to work him into a light sweat, and she'd noticed it too, which made it even worse.

" Hoo, _wow_! Sweat . . . _and_ leather! I've died and gone to heaven!"

: cut toshot of Earth :

"_ARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!"_

" Crap, crap . . . _double_ crap!" Kiba grumbled angrily at the top of the stairs. " Being hunted down by _Darcia_ wasn't nearly as bad as this!"

" Hey Kiba," Hige called from the bottom. " We're gonna get going, it's past six. Are you coming?"

Granny planted herself squarely in the middle of the stairs like a police barricade, almost daring him to try and get past her.

" He's not going anywhere until I get a hug and a kiss," she declared to the other three, and that was that. She faced forward determinedly and didn't move from her spot.

" Nngh . . . " came the wretched moan from the top of the stairs.

So there you have it. I cranked this one out without doing a rough draft at all. Will Kiba have to (shudder) kiss her? Or will he choose to jump out of an upstairs window and take his chances with gravity? Who knows? Poor, poor Kiba. I really don't know what else to say. And Kiba . . . I know you don't have anything else to say about this, either . . . unless it's encapsulated by one of three words: "Blue," "pups," or "pants." Ah well . . . until next time, my dear hobbitses! Wait..._what the hell_-? Oh, and one more thing (I sound like Uncle from the Jackie Chan cartoon). . . if you want to know whatmy personality's like, read Megatokyo and look for the character Largo. He's the weird one. I just had to put that in. Anyway . . .lat3r!


	6. Dinner Time

Hey, it's me again. Yes, I have not updated in a while. Yes, I just started a new quarter at school, so I'm trying to get back in the swing of things. Thanks to all who reviewed; I'm glad my lame attempts at humor are appreciated. Yeah, Hige was definitely getting his in the last chapter for being such a loud-mouthed jerk, but Kiba was just getting tortured needlessly (evil grin).

Darcia Plushie: As for what I'm going to do about Darcia coming back . . . well, you're just gonna have to wait and see. Cheza'll be appearing shortly, as will Blue. Geez, can't you people _wait _. . . ?

I'm just kidding, guys. Don't kill me.

Again, I'm just pulling this out randomly, with no rough draft whatsoever, so here's to hoping . . . (crosses fingers). Hope you enjoy it and thanks again for your support, folks!

(And do I really have to do another disclaimer? . . . No one owns anything on this site except OC's and whatnot.)

Kiba slowly backed away from the stairs as Granny started up after him. He looked around wildly for some place to hide. There wasn't much to pick from. He dove into Toboe's room and crawled under the bed, which was packed full with stuffed animals. The dust was almost unbearable, but if it meant escape from Granny, he could put up with it. He held his breath, feeling a sneeze tickling his nose.

" Where'd you go, dearie?" called Granny's voice from the hall. Kiba almost sneezed, but he clamped both hands over his nose and waited tensely. The sound of Granny's footsteps stopped outside the room, and through a crack between a stuffed unicorn and a pink teddy bear he could see her slippered feet at the door. He closed his eyes, praying she wouldn't enter.

After an eternity of waiting, he heard the shuffle of her feet as she moved away. He peeked out again from between the stuffed animals and saw that the coast was clear. He cautiously slid out from under the bed and glanced out of the window. Below, Hige was relaxing on the hood of his car, while Tsume leaned against it with arms crossed. Toboe seemed to be talking to them.

Kiba looked back over his shoulder at the empty hallway, then down at the three by the car. He unlocked the window and swung it open. A slight breeze ruffled his hair as he peered down. It wasn't that high of a drop; probably no more than twenty feet to the ground. He'd have to chance it. He climbed over the windowsill and perched on the narrow roof above the flower beds, mentally preparing himself for the leap.

Then, a soft voice in his ear said, " Are you trying to escape, you naughty boy?" and he panicked, jumped off the roof without a second thought, and landed in the middle of the lawn. Granny was staring out of the window at him, amazed. Then she clapped.

" I knew you were the athletic type!" she cackled, and Kiba shuddered and retreated to the car where the others were waiting.

" Hey, it took you long enough!" Hige said, half sitting up on the hood as Kiba stopped in front of Tsume, who only scowled at him.

" What?"

" I don't know how you do it," Kiba said in a low voice as he passed by him and got into the car. The door slammed, and a muffled curse soon followed it. Kiba had gotten yet another wedgie from Tsume's infamously tight pants.

A couple of days later, Hige and Kiba were cruising around the city in Hige's car, taking in the night life. Kiba was even more silent and pensive than usual, and that was making Hige worry.

" Man, are you still thinking about seeing that girl on TV?" he finally asked, taking his eyes from the traffic in front of him long enough to glance at his friend. They were in the downtown area looking for somewhere to eat after coming back from the movies, and so far, Kiba had turned down McDonald's, Weinershnitzel, Ramen House, China King, and The Salad Bowl.

" That was Cheza," Kiba said, still staring out of the window at the passing buildings and crowded, neon-lit sidewalks. " I know it was her."

" Hey!" Hige swerved to avoid a slow car that turned into their lane and slowed down even more. He sped by the Sunday driver and stuck his tongue out at them, then focused on driving normally again. When they reached a stoplight he turned to Kiba.

" But are you sure it was her?" he asked. Kiba only looked over at him, his eyes saying, " Do you even have to ask?"

" Hey, I mean, it could be that she just looks like her," Hige continued, but feeling that his argument was falling on deaf ears. Once Kiba had his mind set on something, that was it, no questions asked. Of all the people, Hige knew that. " I mean, red eyes and pink hair can occur in nature . . . right? Right?"

" I don't think so. It was her." Kiba turned, and pointed out the window at one restaurant in particular. " How about that one?"

Hige looked over to see which restaurant had sparked Kiba's interest, and sighed when he saw it.

" The Brazilian Barbecue. Of course." He slowed down and turned into the parking lot. The restaurant was in the shape of a Mayan temple, and was surrounded with jungle plants and ferns. The deep bump of tropical techno and fusion music throbbed from overhead speakers as they joined the line queuing outside. Hige had to yell to make himself heard over the music and people's chatter.

" Are you sure you want to eat here?" he asked. " I mean, I know you're not that fond of crowds . . . "

" I'm fine."

" Man, it sure is crowded here," Hige said, more to himself than anything, looking around at the people around them. Kiba smiled.

" I thought it was the more the merrier?"

" Well, yeah . . . but here, it's, uh . . . " Hige trailed off, seeing a pair of girls in mini skirts a couple of people ahead of them. " Hey, I'll be right back," he said, sidling forward. He had almost reached the girls when he got stuck in between a couple of people and couldn't move either forward or backward.

" Aw, man . . . " Hige tried to squeeze by, but accidentally stepped on the toes of the person in front of him, who let out a curse and an "Ow!"

" Oops, sorry!" he apologized hastily, as the woman turned around and glared at him with intense blue eyes. They locked onto his and remained riveted there, hardly giving him enough time to take in her short black hair, the red scarf around her neck, her black jacket and skirt . . .

Kiba sighed and pushed his way through the crowd after Hige, knowing the hot dog wolf would have gotten himself into some trouble or other in the two minutes he'd been gone. Sliding around an older couple – a grizzled man and a slightly younger woman – he came upon Hige involved in a staring contest with a familiar face . . .

" Blue?" Hige managed to gasp out. The woman's hostile stare melted into one of disbelief as she took an involuntary step back.

" Who – ?" she began, then took a closer look at Hige, and now Kiba, who stood a little ways behind him. Her disbelief became surprised recognition as she stifled a gasp.

" Oh my God, it's you . . . " she took another step forward and Hige closed his eyes expectantly, waiting for the hug he knew would come –

_POW!_

" Wow . . . " Kiba murmured.

Hige's head bounced off his right shoulder. His hand came up to gingerly feel his reddened left cheek as he turned to face Blue, who now stood with her arms crossed, a deep frown darkening her face.

" Wha . . . " he began, but Blue cut him off.

" That's for not coming to see me sooner!" she said angrily. " And be glad I didn't let Pops have a crack at you."

" Pops?" Kiba repeated. Hige looked around, one eye closed against the pain.

" Popff?" he asked. He couldn't speak with one swollen cheek, and Blue, despite her anger, couldn't keep back a giggle. Then she snickered, and it became full-out laughter when Hige protested, " Dob't laugh ab be!"

Even Kiba couldn't keep back a smile.

" I'm sorry," Blue wiped a tear of laughter – or was it happiness? – from her eye." But it's been so long . . . " She looked up at Hige, and her eyes softened. " And I missed you."

" 'Oo did?"

Blue broke out laughing again. Hige looked indignant.

" It's been a while," she said, turning to Kiba, who only nodded. " And the others . . . are they . . . ?"

" They're here," Hige finished for her, resting his hands behind his head. " Even that jerk Tsume."

" Really? He's not that much of a jerk. I thought he was kind of . . . cute." Blue giggled at the look on Hige's face, then patted his uninjured cheek, " But don't worry, you'll always have a special place in my heart."

" Blue?" came a voice behind Kiba, who whirled instinctively, coming face to face with the grizzled man and his female companion, the ones he had passed in the crowd earlier.

Kiba's eyes widened and he took almost took a step back, but he managed to contain himself and met the eyes of the man who shot him in the market alley all those years ago.

Quent stood gazing at them with some curiosity. " Are these guys buddies of yours?" he asked, looking the two wolves over, his brow furrowed as though he were trying to recall their faces. " Funny, it seems like I've met them before . . . "

" Oh, well, you probably wouldn't recognize them," Blue cut in before Hige or Kiba could say anything. " I mean, we took a couple of road trips together a while ago, but it's been years since I've seen them." Hige tried to look as though this was old news. Blue shot him a look that said, " Now don't screw it up by opening your big mouth, or else."

Quent just shrugged and said, " Hm. Well, nice to meet you kids. This here's my wife, Marianne – " The woman holding his arm smiled and said a warm hello. " And I guess you already know my daughter, Blue. I didn't quite catch your names . . . "

" I'm Hige, and this is Kiba. Nice to meet you too, sir."

Quent simply nodded in acknowledgment and drew his wife closer, and they continued their previous conversation. Out of the corner of his eye Kiba took in the former wolf hunter's appearance, and all he could do was wonder at the change.

The older man was wearing a casual set of dinner clothes, and looked much more presentable in his creamy button-up shirt, dark jacket, and olive-colored slacks, than he did wearing a scruffy trench coat and hat. His gray hair was darker than it had been then, and though it was just as grizzled, it made him look younger and saner. He was smiling and laughing as he talked with his wife, who looked to be a gentle, sensible woman, and must have loved her husband immensely.

_Thank God for that_, Kiba thought as the line moved up a little. _At least she's around to keep him in check_.

In front of him, Hige and Blue were talking together, sometimes arguing loudly, other times whispering softly to each other. Kiba was in the middle of the two couples, and found that his thoughts kept wandering back to that girl he saw on TV at Granny's house.

_Cheza . . . _

He knew it was her. He had seen her face, seen her smile and her eyes . . . and every nerve and instinct within him yearned to seek her out, never stopping until he found her. He was on edge at this restaurant with its crowds of people, and its loud music that hurt his ears, even with his human senses.

He didn't feel right in this place.

He was also so deep in his thoughts that he didn't notice the line moving around him as he stood still, until Hige looked back and saw with consternation that his friend was now in the midst of a giggly group of college girls, who were whispering and pointing at the silent, moody Kiba with glee.

" Come _on_, Kiba," Hige urged from their spot in line. Kiba snapped back to reality – he seemed to be out of touch with it a lot lately – and joined them inside, where Quent was counting the heads in their party and telling the hostess to get them a table for five.

" This way, please," the girl said, leaving her podium and motioning for them to follow. Quent gently nudged Blue to get her moving.

" Come on, we don't have all night," he said in a false gruff voice, and shooed the three younger people forward.

Marianne laughed, and _Quent, party of five_, made their way into the restaurant.

I know, it's short. Ah, well, I had to do something. This was mainly to appease certain readers (ahem)(ahem)chasetherainbowisthisparadiseoukaminokokorofemaleheeroyuy(cough) - geez, what was that? musta been a hairball . . . - who said they needed chapters NOW.  
But it was also short because homework sux0r5 h4rdc0r3, and I just need a little time to readjust myself to the school-work-home-sleep-eat-repeat cycle.  
And for the record, I'm glad you're reading my incoherent ramblings and appreciating them for what they are . . . just incoherent ramblings.  
Well, I think I know what I want to do with this story (NOT). Um, but yeah. Thanks again to all who read and reviewed/ will review/ read but didn't review o.O;;  
(Oh, yeah, and on a minor note, the fact that sometimes the quotation marks separate from the dialogue really bugs me. Just thought I'd let you know.) Lat3r!


	7. Meat and Flowers

tsume.hack (_holding half-empty bottle of Code Red Mountain Dew and a stack of homework_): No, I haven't given up on this story. But I've had some mad, mad, MAD amounts of homework to do lately . . . and I've been incredibly busy otherwise. Poo . . . Well, here's yet another ridiculous chapter - (_gets bonked on head with Kiba plushie by SwingBlues17_) - and I hope you enjoy it. (_To SwingBlues_) That just seemed like something you would do if I keeptalkingbad about my chapters . . .

Hige, with Blue beside him, followed by Kiba, then Quent and his wife, wound their way through the restaurant, trailing after the young hostess. They passed tables occupied by happy patrons, trolleys loaded with platters of every conceivable kind of meat, and rushing servers hurrying to and from the kitchen. Hige sniffed the air and hungrily eyed every plate and skewer they passed.

" I'm so hungry," he groaned as they walked, staring, by a towering stack of ribs piled neatly on a trolley. It was so tall it reached over their heads, and he was sorely tempted to reach for one, but Blue anticipated his move and smacked his hand away.

" Don't be so greedy," she scolded. " Can't you even wait till we get to the table?"

" Aw, c'mon, you don't think I was really going to grab one, do you?" he tried to joke innocently, hands raised in defense, but his guilty laughter wasn't at all convincing. Blue shot him a reproving glance. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as she said tonelessly, " Don't lie."

Hige slumped sullenly behind her as the hostess continued to a cluster of quieter booths and tables, away from the noisy and crowded inner section of the restaurant..

" Here you are," the hostess stopped and motioned them to their table with another smile. Once they had all seated themselves and gotten settled, she took out a pad of paper and pen, and said," Please feel free to ask me if you need anything. Would you like something to drink to start you off this evening?"

Quent ordered a bottle of wine for himself and Marianne without bothering to look at the menu.

" Hm . . . " Hige mused, poring over the menu with a look of intense concentration on his face. " They've got so many choices, I don't know which to get!"

Blue stole a look over his shoulder to see the cause of his indecision. His menu was open to the beer page, and he was evidently torn between an Asahi or Sapporo. He seemed intent on getting the All-you-could-drink special.

Blue flipped the page back over to the non-alcoholic drinks. " Just get something that won't make you act a fool if you drink too much of it," she instructed him, refusing to let him turn back to the beers. " You're bad enough as it is when you're sober."

" Aw, c'mon, Blue," he whined, but she remained steadfast. " The guys in my dorm ran out of beer last week, and I've been dry ever since! And it sucks!"

" Well, sober up!" Blue snatched the menu from his hands and held it out of his reach, saying to the hostess, " Two Cokes, please."

Hige wailed as Blue handed the menus back to the hostess with an air of triumph.

" Blu-_ue_! C'mon, lemme get just one! I'll behave, I promise!"

" You're better off without it," Blue said, calmly ignoring the barrage of outbursts and pleas that followed. Quent chuckled dryly, watching Hige pout and prepare to launch another verbal bombardment.

" Listen to the lady, son," he said, stopping Hige as he opened his mouth, " I'm not gonna pay your medical bills if you get her mad."

Blue just smiled as Hige turned to look at her with an expression bordering between horrified and impressed. The hostess, scanning those seated at the table, noticed for the first time Kiba sitting at the end, gazing absently out of the window at the night sky above the city. She approached him and asked, " And what would you like to drink, sir?"

He appeared not to hear her; he sat there without answering. Just as the lady was about to repeat her question, his lips moved slightly and he said in a soft voice, " Cheza . . . "

Blue, Hige and the hostess all fixed him with a blank stare. Hige recovered first, and sputtered out, " She's not on the menu! What the hell are you thinking?"

Kiba turned around, puzzled. " Huh?"

Hige continued, "For once in your life would you get her outta your head and pay attention to the real world?"

Kiba sat there for a moment without speaking, only locking gazes with the somewhat ruffled Hige. Then he made a show of picking up his menu and leafing through it, glancing at the list of drinks. After a moment, he put the menu down and said somewhat pointedly, " I'll take an Asahi." As he passed the menu back to the hostess he shot Hige a faint, one-sided smile.

Hige was speechless. The hostess, sensing the evil vibes beginning to emanate from Hige's direction, left and promised to return with their drinks.

Once she was gone, Hige turned indignantly to Blue, who was watching the overhead TV with her legs crossed, and demanded, " Hey, how come you didn't say anything about Kiba getting booze?"

" Because Kiba can take care of himself," she answered, not taking her eyes from the football game. The aforementioned wolf looked up and caught her sideways glance. Blue added with a smile, " Plus he looks like he could do with a drink right about now."

" So could I," Hige muttered under his breath, cringing when Blue shot him a warning glance, daring him to mention beer again.

" Ehh . . . I'll stick with Coke." He slumped in his chair and glared sullenly at a table across the room, where the happy diners were laughing and swigging . . . beer. Over the noise of other people's chatter and bustle, he could barely make out their song of merriment as they clinked their mugs together, " Beer, beer, beer, tiddly beer!"

The hostess returned to their table bearing a tray with their drinks, followed by a laden trolley cart pushed by a youthful server who must have come straight from the kitchen, judging from the way he was sweating.

" Here're your drinks," the hostess handed out the glasses and mug. " And this is your cart to start off your dinner here at the Brazilian Barbecue. Leon here will be your server, and if you have any questions feel free to ask him. Thank you." She left them.

Leon smiled at them, and began to take the covers from some of the platters and trays on the cart, revealing the tantalizing array of roasted, barbecued, and broiled meats beneath. All thoughts of beer fled Hige's mind when he saw the meat, and he barely stifled a cheer.

That was until Leon brought out a huge carving knife and brandished it casually as he focused his attention on him and said with an almost insane grin, " And what would you like a cut of first, sir?"

Eyes wide, Hige let out a "Meep! Big knife!" and scooted back ever so slightly. Blue rolled her eyes.

" He's not going to cut you, idiot," she said, crossly. " Let's start out with the quail wings first. Those are always good."

Leon obliged by dishing them out to each diner, and fairly soon the meal was under way. After the quail wings came chicken wings and bacon-wrapped turkey. Then beef ribs, pork ribs, cuts of steak, veal, lamb, venison, rabbit . . .

Hige, who hadn't eaten in only about two hours, ate like a famished man.

" Leave some for us, kid," Quent protested good-naturedly when he saw him reaching for more meat. Leon had gone back in the kitchen to bring back yet more. " There won't be any more cows left within a ten mile radius if you keep up like that."

" But you don't get all-you-can-eat-meat every day," Hige objected, tugging on a rack of ribs. Blue had insisted on him tying one of the restaurant's complimentary bibs around his neck that read, " Messy Eater and Damn Proud of It."

" And this stuff is good." Hige shoved some more meat into his mouth and added, " I like hot dogs, but you never really know what's in 'em, y'know?"

" Doesn't seem to stop you from eating them all day, every day," Kiba put in, wiping his mouth. Hige glared at him.

" I'm not talking to you," he said in a nettled tone. " You get beer and I get none, and you don't even have the courtesy to feel sorry for me. What kind of friend are you?"

Kiba had just bitten off a large chunk of steak from a skewer, and he didn't answer. But then he stopped mid-chew and stared at something.

Hige looked at him curiously. The white wolf had that distant look in his eyes, the one he had known all too well, long ago. The one that was usually followed by Kiba running off on some foolhardy jaunt to save Cheza from yet another noble.

Following his gaze to the TV screen mounted in a corner of the ceiling, Hige saw a familiar face, one with pink hair and red eyes . . .

" Her again," he murmured. Sure enough, there was Cheza – or her look-alike – on the screen, talking about flowers again. The program sure seemed out of place in the noisy, almost smoky atmosphere of the restaurant, and evidently some of the patrons thought so, calling for the channel to be changed to pro wrestling. Hige turned around, saying, " Hey, did you see – " He stopped. Kiba had disappeared.

The surly bartender waved off the protests of the customers as they complained that they wanted sports, not flowers.

" Ah, fine, just shaddup, will ya?" he growled, as he rummaged around for the remote. Finding it, he pointed it at the TV, but another hand pushed his down. Blinking in confusion, and then in irritation, he glared at the messy-haired kid in jeans and a leather jacket who stood with his hand on the remote, calmly regarding him with blue eyes.

" Git your hand offa the remote, punk," the bartender said, trying to pull it away.

Kiba kept his grip. " Leave it on for just a minute more," he said. " I want to see the show."

" Well, no one else does, so hands off!"

" I know the girl on the screen. She's . . . an old friend of mine. And I haven't seen her in a while."

There were shouts from the more rowdy tables. " What's the holdup?" " Hey, buddy, let's get the wrestling!"

The bartender glanced at the screen, then back to Kiba. " You know her?"

" Yes."

The bartender reluctantly let the remote drop. " Ehh . . . I guess I'll let you watch it, then. If she's a friend of yours . . . Well, I wish I had friends on TV. Then I might not have to work here. Go on back to your table. I won't change it till it goes off."

Kiba thanked him and made his way back to the table, where Hige was waiting and evidently waiting to give him a piece of his mind.

" What're you doing?" Hige exclaimed, a chicken leg in each hand. " Geez, the people out there were ready to axe you! If they want wrestling, give them wrestling, for cryin' out loud! Haven't you had enough of putting your life on the line for her whenever the opportunity comes?"

Kiba didn't answer; he piled some more meat on his plate and started eating. Hige watched him in disbelief mingled with admiration.

" What do you think you'll accomplish by keeping this program on?" he asked, looking over to where some people were berating the bartender, who was shaking his head with his arms crossed.

" I'm waiting to get her contact information."

" Huh?"

" Shows like these always have a part at the end where they show you the contact information of the person on the show."

The gears began turning in Hige's head. " Ohh . . . " He scratched his head. " So you plan on finding out if she's Cheza or not?"

" No. "

" Huh?"

" She is Cheza." There was no doubt in Kiba's voice, and Hige slumped down in his seat.

" Again with that whole confidence thing. ' I'm so sure it's this, I'm so sure it's that.' Man, we never get a break, do we?"

Kiba shot him a glance. " We got two hundred years. That wasn't enough?"

" Yeah, but – "

WAAH-CHOOO!

Hige was interrupted by an explosive sneeze from the table behind theirs. They hadn't noticed another group of people sit down behind them.

" Do you need a tissue?" a woman's voice asked. " I honestly don't know why you keep forgetting to take your allergy medicine."

A man's muffled voice – smothered by the tissue, it seemed – said in an apologetic tone, " I know . . . I'm sorry, it's just – "

" Oh, Hubb . . . " the woman's voice sighed in resignation.

Kiba, Blue, and Hige all looked at each other.

It was getting to be quite a reunion, all right.

_Blargh _. . . Well, there it is. Short and not so sweet. More and more people keep showing up . ..And if I get one more request for me to put Jagura or Darcia in the story I'll . . . well, I dunno what I'd do, really. Hmm . . . well, I hope you liked it. If it was less than funny, then I blame my lack of Code Red. It is my lifeblood. Without it, I am a walking shell.

Urgh, there I go again. Well, l4ter!


	8. Roadside Pizza

Oy. It's me. I have finally decided to crawl out from under my rock and resume writing. No . . . actually I've just had excessive amounts of homework from my insane instructors at school, and as a result I've had no time to write. The first couple of paragraphs of thischapter were moldering away for the last couple weeks on my computer, and I decided that I'd actually finish it before another week of madness started up. Between that and work . . . Blargh. It's a wonder I get any sleep at all . . . wait a second . . . "sleep" . . . I think I've heard of that somewhere . . . Hm. Well, on with the story.

I don't own Wolf's Rain. Get it right, folks. Geez.

Tsume stood by the moving truck that bore his name, watching his crew lug boxes upon boxes of junk down the steps of the apartment before piling it all into the truck. When he caught a pair of them slacking off he prompted them back to work with a frigid glare, his hands on his hips, then settled back to his former position as his two cronies scuttled back up the stairs. He glanced at his lead man, a lanky teen with tousled red dreadlocks.

" Hey Tsume," the redhead said, coming up but maintaining a respectful distance between him and his taciturn boss, " I think the guys are getting tired, they've been hauling this stuff out all day . . . " He nervously scratched under his hat. "I mean, you call the breaks and all, but it's been really hot and we, um . . . well. . . " he trailed off, not wanting to sound like he was making excuses for his fellow workers. The one thing Tsume hated in this world more than weaklings were whiners.

As Tsume shifted in his spot, the redhead cringed inwardly, waiting with held breath to see what the tall man before him would do.

" Tell them to stop for now," Tsume said slowly, still watching the line of teenagers carrying boxes, some staggering under their loads. " Take a half hour off . . . drink some water, get some rest. We'll start again when it's cooler." As the redhead started off, Tsume stopped him. " Wait."

The redhead stopped and looked back curiously. " Huh?"

Tsume didn't look at him as he said, " Thanks . . . Gehl."

Gehl stared back at him, then smiled faintly and replied, " No problem, Tsume."

Later, Tsume pulled up in front of his apartment, letting the engine of the jet-black motorcycle rumble for a moment longer before shutting it down and pulling off his helmet. He swung his leg over the seat and looked up at the twilit sky. The moon wasn't yet visible.

As he strolled up the stairs, his helmet tucked under his arm, a familiar voice said, " Good thing you don't have to deal with helmet hair, huh, Tsume?"

Without looking around, Tsume continued into the building. " What are you doing here?"

Toboe popped his head around the corner of the stairs and scampered up to follow his friend. " Well, I called Hige and he said he was with Kiba at some restaurant, so I figured since they were out bonding, we could hang out together too."

Tsume turned his head slightly to eye Toboe as the pup skidded to a halt behind him, bouncing up and down on his toes with excitement.

" You do realize who you're talking to?"

" Well . . . you, Tsume. Who else?"

Tsume frowned, then frowned even more when he saw those puppy eyes staring up at him . . . _God, not the puppy eyes_, he thought.

Toboe blinked innocently and continued to stare up at him. Tsume let out an irritated "tch," and unlocked the door to his apartment. Toboe followed him in and went straight for the sofa, bouncing a little on his knees on the leather cushions and watching Tsume go through his mail.

Tsume glanced up at him after trying rather unsuccessfully to ignore his presence and asked pointedly, " Don't you have to go to school? It is a school day, isn't it?"

" Well, I'm home-schooled by my granny, and we finished early today so she could do some shopping." Toboe slumped on the couch and faced the TV, his back to Tsume. " I came by to see how you were doing, 'cause I thought you might get lonely by yourself. And . . . and I was hoping I could spend some time with you, Tsume," he added in a soft voice.

Tsume sighed inwardly.

Despite everything he had said to the runt, he hadn't meant it. At least, not fully. It was a damn shame the kid directed his loyalty and admiration towards a guy like him when there were better role models in the world.

And deep down, he had wanted to spend some time with him, especially without Porky around stuffing his face with mystery meat.

Still gazing mournfully at the floor and just beginning to think he'd have to write off the day as a total loss, Toboe heard the flop of the letters as Tsume let them drop to the counter, then turned and saw him gathering up his jacket.

" Here." Tsume tossed a black, scuffed helmet at him and he barely caught it in time before it hit his face.

He looked from the helmet to Tsume, his face blank. " Uh . . . ?

" Come on." Tsume went to the door and opened it, beckoning him outside with his head. " Let's go."

Toboe processed that for a moment, then bounded up from the couch, beaming.

When they got outside he looked around as Tsume got onto his bike and revved it up, breaking the silence of the evening. Over the sound of the engine roaring he yelled, " But where's _your _helmet, Tsume?"

Tsume slid on his sunglasses and just stared forward. " I don't need one."

Toboe gulped and looked down at the helmet. It wasn't safe to go around on a motorcycle in this city without a helmet. Even Tsume knew that. But if there was anyone who had a harder skull than him, they'd have to be made of concrete.

" Are you gonna stand there all day?" Tsume said, jolting him out of his thoughts, and scowling slightly in irritation. " C'mon, the motor's going, and gas isn't free, you know."

Toboe pulled the helmet on hastily and clambered up behind Tsume. The helmet was far too big for his head, but he pulled the chin strap as tight as it could go and shook his head a little to test it. That was much better.

He instinctively reached for Tsume when the bike started to move, but he stopped himself and grabbed onto the saddle instead. Tsume had always been leery of any sort of physical contact, so he figured holding onto him like a normal bike passenger would be a big no-no. He saw Tsume's shoulders slump in frustration, and the older wolf turned his head slightly to fix him with a deadpan stare.

" There's no backrest for a passenger on my bike, runt," he said coldly. " If you don't hold on, you're gonna end up as roadside pizza when I put on some speed. And I don't think you want that."

" Agh! No! No, I don't!" Toboe panicked and grabbed Tsume's waist, holding on for dear life, his eyes shut tight.

When nothing happened, he opened one eye and looked up. Tsume was looking back at him with his usual unamused look.

" Huh? . . . Tsume?"

Toboe suddenly realized he was clinging to him like a starfish to a clam. He let go, flushing with embarrassment, and looked away.

" Uh . . . s-sorry . . . " he started lamely, but Tsume cut him off by revving the engine again.

" Whatever. Just try not to hold on too tight."

Toboe hesitantly wrapped his arms around Tsume again and stared at the black leather in front of him. Maybe this hanging-out thing with Tsume wasn't such a good idea. He sure hadn't seemed too happy to see him, and even more not happy with having to take him for a ride on his beloved bike.

As they pulled out into traffic Toboe watched the sidewalk and buildings flash by. He wondered where they were going. Tsume didn't look as though he felt like talking.

Meanwhile, Tsume was glaring at the stores and buildings they passed and wondering to himself, _What the hell does a pup like to do?_

Beat older guys at DDR? Hm . . . Besides that.

He'd have to think of something they could both do without him having to jeopardize his self-esteem or his pride. There was no way in hell he was getting back on a DDR platform. No way.

But maybe . . .

Toboe looked on either side of him in wonder almost twenty minutes later as the motorcycle rumbled to a halt in front of an enormous courtyard space, beyond which was a huge, majestic-looking building of gray stone, the stone blocks decorated with impressions and murals of fish and other sealife. Blue and turquoise flags waved languidly in the soft, cool breeze of late evening, while a few people strolled along the court area among the jetting fountains and evergreen hedges.

Tsume parked, and Toboe felt the bike lean a little to the right a bit as he got off. Slightly disoriented by the weight of the helmet, Toboe staggered off and wobbled around a bit, pulling at the chin strap. Tsume watched as he paused, then resumed tugging at the strap almost frantically.

From within the helmet came Toboe's muffled, panicking voice, " Tsume! Help! The helmet – I think it's stuck! I can't get it off!" Followed by more frantic – yet completely useless – pulls on the strap.

Tsume let out an almost inaudible "hmph" of exasperation. Pups were such a pain. When he got back home, he'd have to remember to write that on his list of things he never planned to have.

" Calm down," he told Toboe. He couldn't see his face, but he could tell the poor kid was about ready to cry. " The helmet's not stuck, you're just pulling on it all wrong. Here, lemme see it – " He tilted Toboe's head back slightly so he could see the strap in question, right under his chin, and unsnapped it expertly. Toboe lifted the helmet off and took in a deep breath of relief.

" Thanks, Tsume," he said gratefully. " I didn't think I'd ever get out of there."

Tsume tossed the helmet onto the seat of the motorcycle and began walking off, hands in his pockets. " It was just a helmet. You shouldn't get scared so easily."

Toboe followed him, walking quickly to keep up. " Are we at the museum?" he asked, just to change the subject and get it off him. " I didn't know there was one around here."

" Read the sign, runt. What does it say?"

Toboe looked up at a sign that towered over the huge entrance to the gray building.

" Oh . . . _The Hayes-Winberg Aquarium_," he read, then trotted after Tsume as the elder walked up to a booth window where a young woman sat behind the glass.

" Hello," she greeted him. " Welcome to the Hayes-Winberg Aquarium. How many?"

" One adult, one runt – uh, kid. One kid."

Toboe dug through his pockets wildly at this.

" Oh no, I didn't bring my money with me!"

" Don't worry about it."

He looked up at Tsume, who was pulling out his wallet unconcernedly and paying the lady, who handed him two tickets and told him to enjoy his visit, and that his little brother was cute, too.

" Cute?" Tsume raised an eyebrow at that last comment, but declined to answer and instead headed for the turnstile, where other museum-goers were clicking and rattling through the gates. He slid through with no problem, but the pup was another matter altogether . . .

" _Tsu-m_eeee!" came the familiar wail, and he turned around to see that Toboe was caught helplessly in one of men's most inhumane of traps . . . the turnstile.

Toboe struggled futilely while a group of tourists began to pool behind him, muttering and complaining. Tsume walked back and grabbed his wrist, then yanked him out easily. Toboe practically flew out on Tsume's strength alone, and collided face-first into his friend's stomach.

" Ow . . . " Toboe rubbed his head, then looked up. Tsume was doing an extraordinary job of concealing the fact that having a pup's head ram into your gut was not exactly one of the most pleasant experiences he'd come across to date. He simply looked away and said, " Let's go see some fish."

Meanwhile . . . back at the Brazilian Barbecue . . .

" Please, please, _please_, can't I get some beer? _Please_? Blue, I'm shriveling to nothingness here, and all _you _can do is sit there and smirk while I suffer? Why must the world be so cruel and harsh? WHY?"

" Hige . . . shut up. Please."

" This beer is pretty good."

" . . . shut up, Kiba . . . "

" AH-CHOO!"

" Why didn't you ever tell me you're allergic to wine, Hubb? Honestly . . . "

And there you have it, ladies and gents. Not one of the better (or funnier) chapters to date, but hey, I try. I'm gonna see how many of the characters I can bring back, however lamely they may appear. Um . . . that little dialogue between Gehl and Tsume was supposed to be touching, but I think all it touched was new levels in lameness. Heh heh. Oops.And doesn't it just give you the warm fuzzies to see Tsume and Toboe getting along so nicely? I think Toboe would be just the one to get stuck inside a biker helmet . . . And just for the record, Nicola, I will not be putting in any "Tsume and Toboe lovin'" in here, just because. . . Well, I don't really need a reason.  
To all the reviewer folks out there, I do thank you all for your reviews and whatnot. Thanks so much for all the good reviews. You guys make it happen.

Huzzah for the reviewers.

Huzzah for me. Huzzah for leather pants and ninjas.

Okay . . .this is the point where you kinda start scooting away from the computer, because I am slowly becoming insane. It is just too fsckin' late at night, and I have work tomorrow. And when I get back from work, you people better have said something, whether good or bad, about this story.

I'm just kidding, guys. Please don't kill me; that's Kiba's job. Review in your own good time, especially you, Swingblues. You are teh r0x0rz.

Woot! Lookit this long-ass rant! Maybe you could throw in some reviews of the rant as well! Ahh . . . well . . . until next time, my dear hobbitses. I just can't bring myself to type anything more.

Hah . . .not. Lat3rz!


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